Man on Fire

How would you portray a childhood hero? Man on Fire references the historical figure Cuauhtémoc, the Aztec ruler who was tortured with fire during the Spanish conquest of Mexico. Growing up in the Southwest borderlands, Luis Jiménez heard stories of Cuauhtémoc's bravery from his grandmother and thought of him as a mythic figure, a "kind of Superman."

Rendered in glossy fiberglass, the burning man stands defiantly upright, one arm aloft, even as he is wrapped in flames. Jiménez made the sculpture at a time of growing dissent against the Vietnam War among many Chicanos. Man on Fire draws on the famous photographs of Thích Qu?ng Ð?c, a Buddhist monk who set himself aflame in protest of the US-backed South Vietnamese government. For Jiménez, the monk's act resonated with his own antiwar stance. Man on Fire thus references martyrdom and resistance spanning multiple continents, cultures, and centuries.

How would you portray your childhood hero? Luis Jiménez honors Cuauhtémoc, the Aztec ruler who was tortured with fire during the Spanish conquest of Mexico. Growing up in Texas near the Mexican border, Jiménez heard stories of Cuauhtémoc's bravery from his grandmother and thought of him as a "kind of Superman."

The burning man stands defiantly upright, even as he is wrapped in flames. Jiménez critiques histories of racialized violence while representing resistance and self-determination.

Label text from The Shape of Power: Stories of Race and American Sculpture November 8, 2024 -- September 14, 2025